Unemployment drops significantly in Davidson County

Davidson County's unemployment rate dropped a percentage point in September to 9.6 percent from August's 10.6 percent.

BY REBEKAH CANSLER MCGEEThe Dispatch

The monthly unemployment report provides Davidson County a glimpse of hope in an uneven economic time. In the past four months, unemployment has increased three times and dropped once by fractions of a percentage point. In the month of September, before the majority of seasonal hiring begins, Davidson County’s unemployment rate fell to 9.6 percent. This is down 1 percentage point from 10.6 percent in August and is 1.8 percentage points lower than the previous September’s rate of 11.4. Davidson County’s unemployment rate has not been below 10 percent since December 2008 when it was 9.6 percent.“We are here to get people back to work. We are not the unemployment office; we are the employment office,” said Karen Michael, assistant manager of Lexington’s office of the North Carolina Department of Commerce Division of Employment Security.Unemployment rates decreased in 97 of North Carolina’s 100 counties in September, increased in one and were unchanged in two. When compared to the same month last year, unemployment rates declined in all 100 counties, according to a press release from the Department of Commerce. North Carolina’s statewide unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) was 8.9 percent in September. This was a 0.8 of a percentage-point decrease from August’s revised rate of 9.7 percent and a 1.5 percentage-point decrease over the prior year.“I think the better thing is to do over-the-year comparisons,” said Larry Parker, spokesman for the Division of Employment Security. “These numbers are not seasonally adjusted numbers, so you can get fluctuations like that month to month. Over the year you can get a better indication of what’s happening.”The number of workers employed statewide (not seasonally adjusted) increased in September by 72,188 to 4,291,292 while those unemployed fell 31,303 to 421,149. Since September 2011, the number of workers unemployed decreased 62,424 while those employed increased 103,546.This equates to around 40,000 people throughout the state dropping out of the calculations due to benefits running out or not actively seeking work through the unemployment office.“What we’re seeing statewide is the job sectors are slowly gaining ground in the past year,” Parker said. From the early 1990s to now, Davidson County’s lowest unemployment during the month of September was 2.2 percent unemployment in 1998. Five years ago this month, in 2007, unemployment was at 5.3 percent. Parker pointed to what many Davidson County residents already know: Manufacturing, specifically furniture manufacturing, has left the county and slowly increased the unemployment numbers.“I want to stress the importance of education,” Michael said. “If people didn’t finish school for one reason or another doesn’t mean that they can’t finish now. A diploma is important. The days of completing through eighth, ninth or 10th grade and going to work for Lexington Furniture or Thomasville Furniture are gone.”Parker added that Davidson County’s total labor force, which includes employed and unemployed, has only decreased by about 800 people since the early 2000s to 79,949, but the gap between those employed and those unemployed as grown. “We do have a lot of job listings right now,” Michael said, adding that the office is beginning to receive seasonal jobs as well. “There are employers that are out there that have jobs that maybe are not listed with us as well. We can help people avail themselves to resources that are available to make them more marketable.” Scotland County recorded September’s highest unemployment rate at 16.1 percent, decreasing 1.1 percentage points from the previous month. Graham County had the second-highest rate at 14.7 percent. Currituck County had the lowest unemployment rate at 5.1 percent, followed by Orange, 5.7 percent, and Chatham, 6.7 percent.“There are jobs outside of our county available also,” Michael said. “We don’t want to encourage people to go out of the county, but sometimes you have to be willing to travel outside the county find a job. One of the companies I’ve been asked a lot about recently is Ashley Furniture in Davie County. They currently have around 25 different positions listed with us and we have applications here.” Michael noted that some of the available jobs are supervisor positions, production workers and administrative openings.

Rebekah Cansler McGee can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 228, or at rebekah.mcgee@the-dispatch.com.